i 〈3 u
by Elsanna Potato Corner
Summary: Valentine's Day 2016 One-Shot. Elsa and Anna are Elementary teachers, and the whole school ships them. [Elsanna, mAU, non-incest]


**Author's Note:** This one-shot does contain Point of View changes delineated by hard breaks.

 **Prompt:** Elsa and Anna are teachers and the whole school ships them. On Valentine's day, the school does a bunch of activities and decorates the place under the pretense of celebrating the holiday, when _really_ it's just an excuse for everyone to try to get these two together, either by pairing them up for events or setting the mood.

* * *

I walked into the staff lunchroom before my first class was to start, and as I walked in I saw the school principal get a cup of coffee from the pot. "Good morning, Olaf."

With a giant grin, he greeted me cheerily, "Good morning, Elsa. How are you this fine Valentine's Day?"

"I'm good, thanks. Just dropping off my lunch before I head to my Math class."

"You know…" he suddenly drawled, and I paused with my hand on the faculty fridge, turning my head to arch an eyebrow over my shoulder. His smile had grown. "We're having some events scattered today—"

I groaned. "Olaf, you know I'm not one for events. They take time away from the classroom." _Not to mention they require interacting with so many other people, and of course, the adorable Art teacher is going to dive right into them…_

"C'mon, it'll be fun! I promise!" Olaf insisted, and I couldn't help the twitch in my own lips at his infectious excitement. He was a sort of...an outlier, when it came to principals in the district. He took the time to understand his students, took no complaint or report lightly, and did as much as he could to boost morale and help the kids under his care. He had ruffled the feathers of the other principals and a few of the district board members with his eager, eccentric ways, but Olaf always told me he didn't care.

And the school events, of course, were always legendary within the district. With Valentine's Day being his favorite holiday of all, he was bound to go all out.

...And dragging me into it, as usual.

"I'm sure it will be tons of fun, Olaf," I said fondly, ruffling the short man's scraggly mop of brown hair. I had known him long enough to know that he wouldn't mind and his distinct chortle made me giggle in turn. "However, I'm still going to have to decline. These problems don't solve themselves and even if you make it so that the classes are cancelled, I still have papers to grade."

"Elsa." Olaf sounded surprisingly stern and I stiffened slightly. "Just...two events. That's all I ask. Two events for me then you can spend the rest of the day however you want to spend it, I promise."

I sighed. This was a losing battle and I knew it. "Fine. Just two," I reluctantly agreed. He cheered and gave a joyful little dance and I couldn't stop the smile that upturned my mouth away from its frown. "I mean it though Olaf. _Two._ Then I get to grade my papers in peace."

"Okie dokie, artichokie!" Olaf answered. He took a long slow sip of his coffee, his twinkling eyes peering over the mug's rim at me, and I could see his lips smiling widely. The enormous smile was still present after he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and flashed me a wink — or maybe he had something in his eye… "Two should be more than enough!"

I nodded carefully. "Good. So," I said, finally turning back to the fridge and opening it to slot my lunch in its usual location, hidden far back and behind everyone else's, "what sort of events are we talking about?"

Olaf responded cheekily, "Oh, you'll see." He left the room, and I could only imagine the grandiose grin on his face. I shook my head at his vague reply, and silently cursed at having been dragged into participation in the day's _festivities_.

After I closed the the door to the fridge, I turned around and bumped into something… soft, yet firm — though my forehead smarted a bit as it had hit something slightly harder. I looked up and saw the stunning redheaded Art teacher gently rub her own forehead.

I looked into teal blue eyes, and said, "I'm terribly sorry, Miss Collins. I didn't hear the door open, and wasn't paying attention."

Although my words were courteous and steady...my heart couldn't help but give a little dance at seeing her. Honestly, it was almost frightening how easily she could brighten my day with a simple smile, with a glimpse of her hair from across the hallway, with just... _being there_ , really.

"Please, it's just Anna," I heard her say, her warm voice gently tugging me out of my thoughts.

"Okay, A-Anna," I stutter out as I blush from embarrassment at my slip, giving myself a mental facepalm. Can I _not_ stammer like a lovestruck fool for one second?

The Art teacher let go a lovely laugh, and I swear my knees morphed into playdough at the melodious sound. Everything about this woman turns me into a bumbling mess whenever she's within arm's length. She could look at me, simply _look_ at me, and I have to keep myself from fainting.

 _I think I'm being overly dramatic today..._

But this was nothing new. Ever since she started working at our school the previous summer, swept into the building with sunshine trailing in her wake, I just… _noticed_ her. She drew my attention in ways no one ever had before. Certainly more than any man, up to and including my ex-husband. What a messy divorce that was; I'm still sifting through the pieces, even three years later. Anna, however…

No. I had to stop thinking of her that way, as being my next mistake. She was just a friend and colleague, even if I wanted to hear her laugh every day for the rest of my life.

"Elsa? Are… you okay?"

That brought me crashing back to the present. "O-oh, what? I mean, what were you saying?"

"I was asking if you're going to be at the party this afternoon," she chuckled adorably. Not adorably - normally! Damn it, what is _wrong_ with me?! "You know… the one Olaf is putting together?"

* * *

I watched as Elsa wrung her hands tightly against her chest, and attempted not to focus on her chest itself—forced myself to look at her face as it flushed slightly.

 _Why is she so nervous?_

After a moment, she replied hesitantly, "Y-yes… he… he convinced me to come to a couple of the events."

A wide smile lit my face.

"Great! Then I'll see you there, Elsa." I gave a quick wink, before I left the room and made my way to the arts classroom for my first period class.

Wow, the day couldn't go by fast enough! I'd been so excited to decorate the classrooms, get big bags of those gross candy hearts that nobody actually likes but pretends to around this time of year… and this was just the _first_ event! I mean, later on would be…

I took a deep breath and forced myself to calm down. There was no use getting my hopes up that Elsa would actually come to the party tonight. The "couple of events" wouldn't include the faculty-only mixer after school hours. Not Elsa Schüler. She never came to anything that didn't have to do with the school's best interests; not the Hanukkah retreat, none of the brunches. If it was just socialising, she wasn't interested.

But it would be nice to see her at the kids' party, right? Not teaching, just… monitoring them to make sure they didn't run outside, or dump the punch bowl out. Maybe she would even talk to me a little more than "sorry for bumping our heads together." A girl can hope, right?

That's all I had been doing since we met. Hoping. Not that I wasn't used to disappointment, but… It'd be nice for Elsa to throw me a bone every once in awhile.

But it was hard to stay down when I walked into my classroom and saw a giant pile of Valentines on my desk.

"Are these all for me?" I asked, feigning incredulity as all of my students nodded eagerly, big smiles adorning their faces. Valentine's Day really was one of my favorite holidays, so I think I can be forgiven if I... _might_ have skipped over to my desk. A chorus of giggles reached my ears at the act, and I sent a pout their way, picking up the first card.

On the front was a snowman with its pieces slightly gapped, and the words 'You make me fall apart'. I turned it over, and read "To: Miss Collins" and "From: Your secret admirer".

I grinned, then picked up the next one. A picture of Rapunzel with stylized "Be Mine" adorned the front of the card, and the back read "To: Miss Collins" with "From: Your princess"—a heart in place of the i's dot in "princess". My face flushed, and I heard giggles arise from the class.

 _What? I've never said anything about liking women._

But as I kept looking through all of them with the same shy grin, most of them were adorable but some of them marginally inappropriate - I had to suppress my strong urge to correct whoever had misspelled it "bobbies", since telling the little boy how to harass his elders better was not really in anyone's best interests. Either way, I appreciated that they had all taken the time to give me these cute bits of affection.

"Thank you all so much," I told them in a gush, hearing more giggles. Little Susie in the front row was so excited she could barely sit still - but then again, she also had to pee a lot. Could be either thing.

Then I came to the one on the bottom. It was very plain, but pretty; a standard heart motif that was really well designed and appealed to my artistic sensibilities. What really set it apart was that, turning it over, I found extremely neat cursive writing. Clearly whoever wrote it was not in grade school, and had taken a lot of time to make sure every single stroke of the pen was perfect.

 _Miss Collins, you really are perfect. I wish I was perfect for you. Hope your Valentine's Day is the best it's ever been._

No signature.

"Who is it from, Miss Collins?" Susie asked, "Your face got red."

"Yeah, it's really red!"

"Was it my card, Miss Collins?"

"Oh! What if it's mine?"

I could feel my cheeks grow warmer as my students continued their commentary, soon arguing amongst themselves as to whose card it was.

"I-It's no one's!" I finally interrupted when Nils looked like he was about to fight Anders, and when Lilo eyed the paint bottles mischievously, as if to take advantage of the situation for a little…'artistic fun'. The chaos immediately quelled, all arguments coming to an abrupt stop as the kids turned their attention back to me, wide-eyed and expectant.

"Well, _someone_ had to give it to you," Dash piped up, earning a round of "ooooooh's" from the others and a few giggles. "Who is it, Miss Collins?"

I replied in a low voice, "I… I don't know…"

Lilo, seemingly having redirected her mischievous energies, interjected, "Oh oh oh! Maybe it was Miss Schüler!"

My body had determined that it was not going to cooperate, and released a choked cough. _If only. But the chances of it being from her…_

* * *

I walked to my first class, flustered after the brief meeting with _Anna_ in the lunchroom.

 _I'm not going to let this Valentine's Day get to me. I'll teach my classes, grade my homework, stop in briefly at the two events I agreed to, and then I will leave. Nobody wants a mopey divorcee around on Valentine's, all I will do is bring them down… or worse, have to suffer through their pity._

Having reached the classroom, I grabbed the door handle and took a deep breath.

"Good morning, Miss Schüler!" a chorus of excited voices greeted me, and I managed a small smile.

"Good morning class," I responded with practically no pep in my step, "How are we all doing this morning?" The only responses I received are wide smiles and giggles from every corner of the classroom. I raised my eyebrow in confusion and noticed some of the kids avert their eyes to my desk then back to me. Slowly, I turned to look at my desk only for my eyes to widen at the sight.

There, planted on my desk, was a good sized basket full of Valentine's cards. The basket looked to be holding its own, but it's overflowing for goodness sake!

"Wow…" I mumbled, debating if this was real or not.

 _I've never received this many before._

I walked over to my desk, still stunned at the sheer amount waiting for me. Reaching a hand out to pull the basket closer to me, I stamped down the urge to flinch at its physical proof that yes, this was very real, and _yes, this is happening how in the world_ —

Up close, I saw that the majority of the Valentine's cards were of the silly, light-hearted variety. Pictures of popular characters with cheesy lines adorned most of the covers, but there were a few that were more artistic in their presentation. Flowing font and glittering red hearts...it was almost too much. I had expected a hand-drawn card or two, and maybe some of the cheesy ones popular with kids these days, but to have _this_ much? All for me?

I coughed, already feeling the heat rising to my cheeks for the second time this morning. "Thank you very much for the cards, everyone."

"No problem, Miss Schüler!"

"Open them, open them!"

"Yeah, we wanna see if you like them, Miss Schüler!"

I felt a bead of sweat trail down my back at the numerous eyes fixed on me, wide-eyed and expectant. More than a few were also grinning mischievously, sparking a hint of suspicion inside as I turned my gaze back to the basket, searching for…

 _There._

I reached a hand out for the card that stood out amongst the rest—hand-crafted, but of an obviously higher quality than the attempts of my students, none of whom were over the age of ten. It was tucked in the side, almost out of sight, but that didn't stop me from plucking it out of the mass of other cards. I heard my students go "ooooooh" as they caught sight of the card...along with more than a few giggles and hushed tones.

Pushing aside their suspicious behavior for now, I carefully opened the card.

" _My love for you is like pi...never-ending."_

Despite my best attempts, I couldn't help but snort. A flush spread across my neck when my students straightened in their chairs, eyes wide. My hands grew clammy and my stomach twisted as the pressure of their stares grew. This was the first time I had ever acted so...undignified in response to a card. Even discounting the fact that I had never received this many cards before, I had always managed to react with grace and politeness. It was as much a teaching tactic as it was a coping mechanism.

"What does it say, Miss Schüler?"

Andy's question was innocent. The card's message was innocent. But my mind had leapt to less innocent places when I had read it. No, not like _that_.

I only knew one person in the whole school who had this sense of humor. And Olaf didn't count.

"It says I look nice," I finally said. I folded the card back into place, taking a second longer to make sure the card didn't crease. I was grateful my class couldn't see my fingertips shaking.

"You know, you're a really bad liar."

Of all my students, Vanellope was surprisingly perceptive. She was already eying where I had placed the card back.

"Nobody blushes like you did over something so boring," she said. A few of my students nodded in agreement and she smirked. "So what did it really say?"

I chuckled once and picked up my usual black marker, turning to the whiteboard. "It said we should get started on today's math problem."

A collective groan sounded through the classroom and I mentally breathed a sigh of relief. With the situation over, I let my hand glide across the board. Still, I couldn't help think back to Olaf's words from earlier.

" _You'll see."_

What games have I gotten myself into?

The fact that the card had been unsigned didn't leave my head for the entire period.

* * *

The morning classes went by quickly after the interesting situation with the Valentines I received at the beginning of first period. After third period was over, it was time for lunch break.

I made my way to the faculty lunchroom, and pondered the message in that one special Valentine I'd received - ' _Miss Collins, you really are perfect. I wish I was perfect for you. Hope your Valentine's Day is the best it's ever been._ '

 _It… that couldn't be from her, could it? And yet… it's written so formally, so elegantly. Much like the way she talks._

I shook my head to clear my thoughts as I pulled the handle to the lunchroom door open, and entered the room. She was already there, of course, seated at a small 2 person table off to the side, nose in a book as she ate her lunch.

I grabbed my lunch from the fridge, and made my way over to her table. "Is this seat taken?"

She jumped in her seat, and her book almost flew out of her hands. She stammered out, "N-No, i-it's av-available." I watched as her face flushed a soft pink, which stood out startlingly against her pale complexion.

"Ummm… w-were you g-going to… sit?" Elsa asked hesitantly, one eyebrow raised quizzically.

 _Oh… OH!_ I hadn't realized that I'd just stood there staring at her, watching her.

"Y-yes…" I mumbled, as I sat down across from her at the small table, and unpacked my sandwiches and bottle of juice.

The silence that stretched between us was tense as we ate. Elsa was trying hard to focus on her book but I could see her eyes occasionally drifting away from the pages in order to look at me. I tried to pretend not to notice- she was kind of reminding me of a small mammal, one that would flee if too much attention was given.

However, I finally couldn't stand the quiet. I swallowed the last bite of my sandwich and smiled at her. "So, how is your day so far, Elsa? Get any nice cards?" I asked.

Elsa looked up, glacier blue eyes shyly averted from mine. "Yes, thank you." She answered quietly, a pink blush dusting her cheeks. She looked so cute! "And it's going well, how about yours?"

"Same. Got some cards, too," I replied, trying not to hide behind my sandwich at how poorly this conversation seemed to be going. "They're nice...too."

 _You had only one job, Anna._ ** _One_** _job…_

"Well, I'm glad to hear you both got nice cards! Now eat your lunches and stop clogging the air with all your tension," Coach Calhoun barked as she entered the room, thermos in hand. "It's not like _I_ got some cards too, or anything…" she added in a quieter tone, more like a grumble as she walked over to the coffee machine for a refill.

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get some cards of your own before the day is over, Tamora," Gerda, the school nurse, piped up reassuringly from where she was heating her lunch in the microwave. Her gaze locked on to mine, and she offered a warm smile. "Oh, don't mind me—continue with your conversation, dear."

If my face wasn't warm before, it was warm now.

"You were saying?"

Now the pressure was _really_ on. Elsa was looking at me expectantly, even though she was also flushed from all the attention—both from me and everybody else. What was I saying? Cards, something about cards…

"H-have you ever played poker?"

The inner me was facepalming so much that I wanted to die. What did that question have to do with anything?! Even for a non sequitur, it was horrendous. Fatally horrendous. No way was my social life surviving this debacle.

"...and?"

"Huh?" Recovering just enough, I came up with a, "Pardon?" to make me sound less inept.

"Oh," Elsa chuckled. "Just that, usually you follow up a question like that with some kind of pun. I was waiting."

I blinked. "R-right, a joke… h-ha...ha…"

 _Why? Why do I have to make such a fool of myself in front of her?_

"Ummm… well… So… how do you make a straight flush?"

"I… I don't know… How do you make a straight flush?" Elsa asked, brow raised curiously as she raised her bottle of water for a sip.

I choked down laughter, trying to respond evenly. "You flash her."

Speaking of flashes, a flash flood happened.

On my face.

"Well, well...this place suddenly got more interesting," I heard Calhoun drawl from somewhere as I spluttered, trying to wipe the water from my face. I tried to glare in her general direction, though this only caused more spluttering.

"Anna! I'm so, _so_ sorry about that!" Elsa exclaimed, and I felt hands frantically dabbing at my face with what felt like tissues.

"No, it's fine!" I half-laughed, half screeched. I'm not used to girls I find way too attractive for my own good stopping to touch all over my personal space; that's not in my usual day plans!

"But I didn't mean to- God, look how it got everywhere, I can't—"

"—completely my own fault, making a dumb joke like that, and—"

"—maintain control of my motorskills, if I can't then I'm just some neanderthal without—"

"— _completely_ inappropriate to say when we're at work like this, I should b—"

"—whoa, hang on, I didn't— _WHOA!"_

The next thing I knew, I was halfway into the floor, a soggy napkin still plastered across my cheek. That was pretty interesting. Much more interesting was the way Elsa's hands were behind my neck, and in the small of my back, keeping me from landing on the linoleum head-first and cracking my head open.

Her hands on me like that, face so close, I flushed brighter than a strawberry—the color of my face matching my hair.

I couldn't help but just stare at her face, and lost myself in those brilliant cerulean pools mere inches from my face.

"Hi."

Elsa's voice snapped me out of the daze I had fallen into.

"Hi me…? Oh. Um. Hi."

I could have facepalmed at how lame I sounded.

She asked, "Are… are you ready to stand up on your own now?"

"Ohhh… Oh, yes… sorry…" I frowned, finally having realized how long she must have been leaned over supporting me, keeping me from hitting the ground. I proceeded to stand myself upright, and knocked my forehead against hers as I did so.

"Sorry… I'm so sorry." I smiled weakly in apology.

"I-It's… it's okay… I guess it's only fair after this morning."

"This morning?" Then I blushed even darker. "Ohhh, that. No, that was no big deal - and neither are you! I m-mean, is this! You're obviously _not_ not a big deal, meaning, um, you are! A big deal! Not to me personally, but to somebody! Y-yeah…"

Right around that time was when it hit me; we were _still_ like that, as if Elsa was in mid-dip at a gala and we were wearing complementary eveningwear. A muted "wooooo!" from the corner brought me out of it enough to reach up and use her shoulder to get me back on my feet.

"Thank you," I muttered, wishing that there was a nearby manhole I could throw myself down.

"My pleasure." Then Elsa cleared her throat. "To help you, I mean. I'd do that for anyone."

"Then 'anyone' is lucky." Nope! Bad Anna, _bad!_ "T-to have you looking out for them! Right? Right. Okay, um… I'm gonna go, so I hope you're alright here?"

The bemused expression that had taken such deep root on Elsa turned slightly sad as she nodded. "I see. It's been… nice talking to you again, Anna."

"Y-you too, Elsa. Bye."

I hastily collected what remained of my lunch that was salvageable and put it in the fridge, then threw away the rest of it and the soggy napkins used to clean up the wet mess. After that, I quickly left the room to return to the classroom for fourth period—the last class for today due to the Valentine's Day celebrations being held for the students.

* * *

Once Anna had left the room, I gathered my trash and lunch together and disposed of it all. My appetite had disappeared with the loss of Anna's companionship.

Face drooped towards the floor, I picked up my book and proceeded to my next class. My heart felt like it had sunk to the very pit of my stomach.

Once seated at my desk, several minutes remaining before next period was to start, I pondered over our conversation. One part in particular stood out to me and my mind fixated on it, like opposite magnetic poles.

' _Not to me personally'..._ I sighed dejectedly. _Of course... Why would Anna even think about ME like that? How could SHE EVER think of me like that?_

"Miss? Miss?"

I jerked my head up to see Lilo standing in front of me, staring at me like I was drunk. "Oh, I'm sorry Lilo," I said, shaking off my self-pitying thoughts. I had work to do, and it was hardly appropriate to be moping in the middle of the school day.

"That's okay," Lilo reassured me, patting my knee. I couldn't help but smile. "I just have a question."

"Alright," I nodded, sitting up straight and looking down at her expectantly, "I will do my best to answer it for you. What is your question?"

"You sent Miss Collins a card, right?"

My muscles locked and my throat squeezed tightly. "Wh-what?"

"Dash said it _definitely_ wasn't you, but I told him he's dumb and has big ears," Lilo confessed. My mind was racing too much to do more than mutter "you shouldn't say things like that" with no real conviction. "But Miss Schüler, Miss Collins was _blushing_ when she read the card, and _everybody_ knows you only blush around the people you like or if you hit the happy juice!"

My face suddenly felt _very_ warm. I tried to speak, but all that came out was a meek cough.

Lilo unabashedly exclaimed, "I knew it! I've been telling _everybody_ for _months_."

My eyes opened wider, bewildered by what the young girl just told me.

"Miss Schüler and Miss Collins, sittin' in a—" she began to sing, until we heard the classroom door creak open as the rest of my fourth period class came in.

 _How am I going to endure this day? If the students know… Oh dear heavens… Olaf!_ I winced.

* * *

I was busy preparing the supplies for my fourth period class, memories of the disaster that was lunch running through my head. _'You flash her.'_ I cringed, abased. _I just HAD to tell her THAT joke, didn't I? And in the middle of the staff lunchroom, no less._

"Miss Collins?"

I turned around to see Vanellope standing just inside the door as it swung shut. "Yes, Vanellope? How can I help you?"

"Weeeelllllll," she began in a drawl, "you gave Miss Schüler a Valentine, right?"

I bit my lip hesitantly, wondering where this was going. "W-why do you ask?"

"'Cause when she opened this one card—and it didn't look to be from a store, she turned all red and _snorted_ in front of the _entire class!"_

 _Wait...what?_

Elsa Schüler never snorts. She never does anything short of grace and dignity and—

"That's silly, Vanellope," I said, giving a snort of my own and hoping she wouldn't see my hands trembling as I continued preparing the art supplies for class. I turned my back as I went around each desk, distributing the necessary brushes...and smiling like the biggest goof on the planet now that Vanellope couldn't see.

"I know you're smiling."

 _Damn it._

"Swearing around kids isn't good, Miss Collins," Vanellope teased, voice taking on a deceptively sweet tone as I smacked my forehead...nearly jabbing my own eye out with a brush in the process. There I go, accidentally thinking out loud again...

"Don't repeat that," I said, cheeks flushing as scenarios upon scenarios of angry parents flooded my mind.

"Which one? The swearing, or the fact that you _like heerrrr_ ~" She all but sang the last part, and I'm pretty sure my face must've been Cadmium Red by now.

 _Why you little—_

My thoughts were cut off by the sound of the door opening, and the rest of my students filtering in as they made their way to their seats.

Once they were all seated, I gave them the instructions for today's project, "Today, we are going to be painting somebody important to us. This can be a family member, or a friend. Paints, brushes, and cups of water have all been setup at your desks for you, and heavy paper is available at the back of the room on the table. You have the entire period to work on this, so take your time."

But apparently, Vanellope wasn't quite done. Her face was dripping with false innocence when she raised her hand. It took everything I had not to tell her to shush and do her work, to make myself be nice enough to simply ask, "What is it, Vanellope?"

"Who are _you_ going to paint?"

Now my self-control had a new focus: not throwing the nearest object at a small girl. Pretty sure that's an easy way to get fired from a teaching job.

That, however, did not help keep my face from re-flaring a brilliant shade of scarlet.

As I tried to hide my face and focus on the supplies at my own desk, I heard the snickers of the class—especially from the back corner where Vanellope was seated, as she chortled wildly.

"Can we paint who _we_ think is important to you?" I heard her ask, and I stiffened my shoulders, trying not to let some teasing from an eight-year-old get to me. "C'mon, Miss Collins...it'll be fun!"

"I don't think—"

Vanellope shot up out of her seat to gain the attention of her classmates, "Who votes we paint who's important to Miss Collins? Raise of hands, let's see!"

I watched in horror as the whole class turned towards me, with impish smirks to boot, and shot an arm up in the air.

"No, class, I… I already told you the assignment!" This was my own fault; I encouraged them to be more democratic so they would feel more connected and less like drones. Damn me for encouraging self-expression. "If you can honestly say this… _person_ you think is important to me is important to you, too, then I guess that's-"

"Good!" Vanellope squeaked, running to get her paper. About ten students followed before I had the chance to open my mouth to speak, to somehow try to take back what I said… but there was no point. With a shrug, I motioned for the rest of them to begin painting.

I started to paint the outline of a face, thinking of my mother—who had been very important to me. As I painted, my thoughts drifted to the blonde goddess across the school.

Slowly the painting on my page took form, and when I snapped out of my thoughts to check the clock and noticed there were only 5 minutes left before the class was to end, I looked down at the page…

Staring back at me was Elsa's face, eyes half-lidded, biting her lower-lip on one side, braid draped over her left shoulder. I gasped.

When I looked up, eyes wide and pleading that everyone else would be so busy I could dispose of the evidence, I was mortified to see Vanellope and a couple of other students were standing right next to my easel. The only saving grace: I _had_ an easel. They couldn't simply glance down at a table and see Elsa's face.

"We're done, Miss Collins!" said Boba with a less-mischievous smile than Vanellope. When he held his page up, it was of a similarly-tan man with a pleasant smile, though the features were very simplistic. "That's my uncle!"

"I drew you," Sophia told me with a shy smile - and it was true, there I was on the page. My eyes looked like big blue buttons but it was adorable, and I found myself touched despite the rest of the situation.

"That's beautiful," I told her honestly, patting her on the head and grinning when she jumped up and down with glee from being praised.

Then there was one. And the look on that one's face made me want to just end class without asking about her painting at all.

"Wanna see who I drew, Miss Collins?" Vanellope asked, innocently batting her eyelashes.

 _No, not really._ "Of course!"

She laid out her page on my desk, I glanced over at it and immediately flushed.

 _What is a girl that young doing painting this?_

On the page is a _detailed_ image of Elsa and I, in blue and green two-piece swimsuits respectively, lips locked together with hands in the others' hair.

"This is very…" Atrocious. "...nice, Vanellope! Can I ask why you chose this, um… particular subject?"

"It's 'cuz I like both of you," Vanellope said with a big goofy grin. "And you like each other - obviously."

Nodding, I pushed a hand to my face. The other two were trying to crane their necks up to see, but I picked it up and held it so that they couldn't; I wouldn't be responsible for the ruination of Boba and Sophia's young minds. What if they turned out as warped as the original artist?! "Uh huh. I meant, why are we doing that? If we're wearing swimsuits, shouldn't we be swimming?"

"Well, I added the swimsuits after. Probably you would put me in the corner if I didn't." A few seconds later, she was asking, "Miss Collins, why are you smacking your head against your desk like that?"

"Class is dismissed!" I all but shrieked, opening one of the desk's drawers with more force than necessary and stuffing the painting inside before any other prying eyes could see. "Just leave your paintings on your desks; I'll collect them after you leave!"

"But Miss Collins—"

"Miss Collins—"

Begrudgingly, the kids got up from their desks, leaving the room with more than a few confused looks thrown my way at the suddenness of the dismissal. Usually I'd take the time to go over each of their work before they left, but...today wasn't exactly a normal day now, was it?

"Man...you could've handled that better."

 _Please go away._ I pointed a finger at the door, hiding my burning face with my other hand. "Just...Just go, Vanellope."

I continued softly, "Please..."

I couldn't look at her. I couldn't look at that painting… not right now, anyway. What was I going to do about this? _She intended to paint us being naked…_

I listened as her footsteps softened, and heard the door swing shut behind her.

Slowly, I lifted my head from my hands, and glanced around the room to ensure that I was alone. As I quickly swept my view from the windows towards the door, I saw a flash of brilliant platinum.

"Miss Collins?"

"No, you can't see it!" I snapped irritably as I turned—to come face to face with her. With Elsa, with the subject of all this craziness. "Yyyyyouuuuu are not Vanellope! Hi!"

Her chuckle was reserved but amused, and she covered her mouth with her hand as she did so. "I don't even think I own a mint-green hoodie." Then she asked, "What can't I see?"

"Huh? Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it—art project."

"Well, now you have me curious." Glancing down at the desk, she saw Sophia's painting. "Ohhh, well if it's that, then I'd say it's a fairly good likeness! Wouldn't mind having that myself."

"Yeah, it's…" Wait, _what?!_ "You wouldn't?"

"I m-meant… a painting of myself!" Elsa attempted. It looked like an attempt; I mean, wishful thinking aside, she definitely seemed like she was trying to cover what she actually meant. "Of course! Wh-why should I want to keep a painting of you? Not that you aren't gorgeous."

"I'm gorgeous? Wait, what?" My head was spinning. Did she really just say that? To _me?!_

"O-of course, Anna—Miss Collins—no, Anna, we said 'Anna'." Using it as an excuse to stop talking, she began edging around my desk… somewhere I desperately wanted her _not_ to go. "What were you working on?"

I was half-tempted to simply crumple up and eat the drawing I had made. But since that would _definitely_ draw attention to it, I simply turned it over as discreetly as I could. "S-So...what brings you here?" I asked, deflecting her question with one of my own. I smiled as amiably as I could, hoping my cheeks weren't as red as they felt. "A math teacher in the art wing is like a Montague knocking on a Capulet's door."

Silence.

* * *

I began, "Hmmm… I suppose it is, isn't it?" Yet, something stopped me. When she flipped the page on the easel, I thought I saw… _No, it couldn't have been_ — _could it?_ "Wait, what was the project you had your class painting?"

"O-Oh… They were supposed to paint somebody that is important to them," she began and yet I could hear the hesitation, as if there was more to this than she was letting on.

"However?"

The redness of her cheeks darkened. "Ummm… weellll, " she coughed before continuing, "Vanellope proposed that some of them paint somebody who… who they thought was important to… me." The last word uttered as barely a whisper.

I hummed for a moment, as I wondered if I should try to confirm my suspicion. "So, then, your painting on the easel—she means a great deal to you?"

She replied, "Yo-" Another cough. "Y-yes, she is… does."

"Hmmm…" I turned, and wandered slowly around the front of her desk to the other side. "I would lo- _like_ to see your painting, _Anna_."

Her eyes widened, and I bit my lip, faltering a little in my steps. _Was that too forward? Too strong?_

"O-Only if you...answer one thing," Anna began hesitantly, averting her gaze to twiddle at her thumbs. My stomach began to churn nervously at the thought of what she could possibly ask.

"Did you...send me a card?"

 _Abort. Abort the mission, I repeat_ —

"Actually, I...was sent here by Olaf to fetch you," I said, choosing to answer an earlier question of hers instead and desperately hoping the transition sounded as smooth as it did in my head. "The decorating competition between the grade levels is about to start soon."

"O-Oh...I see." Anna's voice sounded so small then, her normal bright demeanor washed away by the rainstorm I had brought in here.

 _Damnit, I'm such an asshole._

"Well," the smile she directed my way did not reach her eyes, "Let me gather up today's lesson from the students' desks, and I will head on down that way. I won't be long."

Anna stood up to move around her desk towards the paintings scattered throughout the room. I took notice that there were quite a few still not turned in. I glanced at the clock and decided helping her would make this go by quicker.

"I can help you gather them up if you like?" I asked, trying to salvage my earlier evasion.

"If you don't mi—" she stopped mid sentence as she peered down at one of the desks.

For a moment, I wondered why she was just staring, frozen in time. I was about to ask her if everything was alright before she hurriedly moved around the room, gathering up pictures left and right like her life depended on it.

Hesitant to interrupt the sudden change in pace, particularly after my previous error in judgement, I decided to hang back near the door. While standing there, I glanced over at the painting on the desk nearest to me.

It was simply done, lacking fine detail, but the subject was plainly evident—Anna and I, standing in a park, holding hands.

"Miss… Miss Collins?" I asked with trepidation, unsure if we were still on a first name basis after the blunder.

"Y-yes, Elsa?"

"You… you should really come see this painting."

She instantly lifted her head, eyes wide and mouth agape.

Faster than I thought possible, Anna darted forward, snatching up the painting and adding it to the pile clutched tightly to her chest. She was little more than a redheaded blur as she rushed back to her desk, opening one of the drawers to stuff them inside without care.

I couldn't help but frown a little at the rough treatment towards the children's work, and looking up to meet her gaze, I saw that Anna had blanched. The light usually evident in her eyes had dimmed, and she was the first of us to look away.

"S-Sorry about that," she mumbled, stepping away from the desk to head for the door. "I just...don't want to keep the kids waiting!" She threw a smile over her shoulder, but much like before, it didn't reach her eyes. "Shall we go?"

There were many things I wanted to ask but couldn't muster up the courage to say any of it. Is everything okay? Did I say something wrong? Why didn't you let me help you? Just so many things…

"Elsa?"

I didn't realize I got lost in my own world for a moment. Forcing my body to move, I took heavy steps towards the door. Since I am on a pretty good streak of evading things, one more wouldn't hurt.

"R-Right. Let's get going before Olaf wonders where we are."

She continued through the door, holding it out for me, and I followed after her.

* * *

 _Stupid, stupid!_ I kept mentally berating myself as we walked down the halls, _You should've just...grabbed all of them immediately after they left instead of moping at your desk! Now Elsa's weirded out over the painting, and she'll think my class is weird, and she'll think_ I'm _weird, and_ —

"Miss Collins? It's this way," Elsa's voice interrupted my mental tirade, and I nearly jumped at the feeling of a hand touching my shoulder. I looked up just in time to see the blonde quickly withdraw that very hand, as if burned.

"Sorry," I forced myself to say. When Elsa still looked like she wanted to get as far away from me as possible, my conscience threatened to slowly murder me later if I didn't do more, say more. "Y-you can touch my shoulder if you want."

 _But not that. Not… fucking…_ that.

"Can I?" Elsa snorted with a single raised eyebrow. "Do you… _want_ me touching your shoulder?"

"Well… I don't _not_ want you touching it." There. That wasn't nearly as bad as some of the things I could have said. Me and my big mouth.

And it would be proven just how big it was when I felt Elsa's hand slide over my shoulder again, not gripping tightly but just enough to make sure it wouldn't slide off. I moved a little closer to her on instinct, and then her face was mere inches away, and my heart was thundering in my chest like it was about to explode and Elsa blinked so slowly at me, and—

"This way," she repeated, her own cheeks flushed as we began to walk. Licking my lips, I let her guide me, privately thinking that she could do this for the rest of my life and that I wouldn't mind.

 _Not at all._

"Not at all… what?" Elsa asked, and I nearly melted into the nearest emergency drain. Not _again!_

"Not at all...uh...easy, don't you think?"

 _Anna, seriously! What the hell?!_

"Easy?" Elsa echoed, arching an eyebrow in confusion.

"B-Beating my group, I mean!" I almost shouted, having finally found something that didn't sound _too_ crazy. Though its delivery probably left much to be desired… "We'll win the competition this year!"

"Oh," she said softly, then chuckled very quietly. "I didn't think it was a serious competition. I mean, we are talking about children here, right?"

"Well… I suppose that's true…" This was a good scapegoat for my feelings, but it was making me sound like a jerk, throwing groups of tots into a Coliseum and seeing who came out alive. "I just hope they all did their best! That's the important thing, right? Doing your best?"

That got Elsa nodding along, and I breathed a sigh of relief. There. That wasn't so hard. Or it was, but it was over now—and just in time, since we were walking into the gym.

All grade levels had gone for broke this year. It was really splendid; giant pink and red hearts everywhere, rainbow streamers, a papier mache cupid on the table where the refreshments were located. I saw our earlier art projects of heart mobiles suspended from the ceiling, twirling very gently from the buzz of the central heating. My cheeks bunched with the effort of containing my smile; they did such a good job! I've never been more proud of my students than at that moment.

"Miss Collins!" several voices called out excitedly, quickly followed by gasps of, "And Miss Schüler?!"

I had raised a hand to wave hello to the students, but that hand ended up turning into a more awkward wave as the kids began whispering amongst themselves in hushed tones, punctuated by a few giggles and a "Shhh! They might hear!"

"Anna! Elsa! So glad you two could make it!" Olaf exclaimed, hurrying over to them with a broad grin. He was dressed in a white toga with a pair of angel wings strapped to his back, along with a quiver of goofy Valentine's Day plastic arrows. In one hand he gripped a red bow, using the other to pat Elsa's back so hard, she stumbled forward a few steps.

"Olaf, I already told you I'd attend your two events," the blonde grumbled, "Of course I would be here."

"Okay, sure, yeah," he said with a goofy little laugh, pushing us together by way of a group hug. Honestly, I've never known any other grown man who initiates _group hugs_ in my whole life. "This is so exciting! Look how happy they all are—and they're even happier now that you guys are here!"

"Yes, they are," I said with a weak laugh. My eyes were on Vanellope, over in one corner holding a blue and a green candy heart in either hand, smooshing them together as she watched us talk to Olaf. Our eyes locked, and she grinned that shit-eating grin of hers, and I wanted to walk over and dunk her head in the punch bowl.

Then I was distracted by Elsa delicately pushing Olaf backward until she could grunt, "Indeed. Um, what should we be doing, now that you tricked us into coming?"

"Oh, don't be so mean," he grumbled with a big fake pout. "All I'm trying to do is make this the bestest Valentine's party this school has ever seen—is that such a crime? Do you really hate being here that much?"

How were either of us supposed to compete with that third degree black belt level of emotional blackmail?

My mouth spitting out words without filtering them through my brain _yet again_ , I said, "Come on Elsa, Valentine's is such a wonderful day—can't we try to enjoy it together?"

At which Olaf jumped in with a grin to match Vanellope's from moments ago, "Yes, Elsa, you and Anna really should spend some time together today and enjoy yourselves."

"We have a lot of kids to look after, Olaf—"

"Oh, quit your whining, Snow Queen," Calhoun cut in as she came to a stop beside Olaf, "You're bringing down the mood by bringing work into this. Just enjoy yourself with Ginger Ale over there, and you'll be fine. We'll all be fine!" She placed her hands on her hips, glaring at something over her shoulder as she grumbled, "Except for me."

 _Uhh...well, then…_

"Tamora, that is enough," Gerda gently chided, showing up beside the gym teacher and grabbing her elbow. "Felix would be more than happy to—"

"Who said anything about Felix?!"

I inched away from our two other coworkers, leaning closer to Elsa to whisper, "I never knew Calhoun liked Valentine's Day."

"Me neither," came her reply, and I could almost _feel_ the smile in her voice.

Then I noticed how close we were and edged away slightly, clearing my throat. "So! Um, what are we supposed to be doing right now? I mean, besides making sure they don't kill each other."

"That's about it!" Olaf told us with a big grin as he began retreating. "Talk amongst yourselves, have some punch—oh man, it's really good, too! Pineapple juice, and peach nectar…"

Both Elsa and myself were shaking our heads when we looked at each other, which made us laugh. And her laugh is musical and perfect, while mine sounds like a disgruntled warthog. Boy are they barking up the wrong tree trying to put us together. Ever heard of fire and ice? Oil and water? Sonny and Cher? We would make those look like matches made in heaven.

"Anna," Elsa said, hand going back to that shoulder—her favourite shoulder, I guess. "Let's go sit somewhere with some punch. Maybe if we're just sitting there and talking, they'll stop being… the way they're being."

"Maybe you're right. Would you like to get a pair of chairs, and I'll bring you some punch?"

She smiled at me demurely and said, "That would be nice, thank you." She gave my shoulder a gentle squeeze, then made her way over to a small table along the wall.

I made my way over to the refreshment table to get our punch. As I was ladling out the first glass, somebody interrupted me.

"Sooooo… have you told her yet?" Followed by a mirthful laugh.

I looked down and to the side, away from Elsa, to see Vanellope smirking at me. I groaned as I rubbed my temple, ladle still in my hand.

"Sometimes… it's not that simple, Vanellope. Even if I did feel that way about Miss Schüler, and I'm not saying that I do… but if I did, who's to say that she would be interested in another woman... let alone me?" My voice trailed off to a near whisper for the last part, as my heart clenched inside my chest.

Vanellope snorted, dismissing my concerns with a lazy wave of her hand. "Oh, please...she's crazy about you, Miss Collins. Actually, can I call you 'Anna' instead?"

I narrowed my eyes, placing the ladle back in the bowl. "Vanellope—"

"Alright, alright, I'll keep calling you 'Miss Collins'," the girl said, holding her hands up in front of her defensively even as her smirk grew. "Unless...you'd prefer _'Mrs. Schüler'_ instead?"

"...you're not a little girl, are you? You're an evil old leprechaun that somebody planted in my class to teach me some kind of cosmic lesson."

"Maaaaybe." But when I rolled my eyes, she giggled and shrugged. "Mom says I act too old for my age, and Daddy says I'm his 'little genius'. Uncle Ralph just says I'm a jerk."

"I'd like to meet Uncle Ralph." Sighing, I glanced around the decorated gym and then said, "Alright… I'm going over there. If I ask you nicely to stop being weird about this, can you do that for me?"

Vanellope considered this. Inspected her nails—not that there was anything to inspect, since she had a habit of chewing on them. Then she said in a would-be casual voice, "I've always wanted a go-kart, you know…"

"I'm not bribing you, ya little… _genius,"_ I barely managed to finish. Instead of something worse. "Just asking you to help me out, unless you like being mean to your teacher."

"When was I ever mean? I'm just trying to help you two stop hiding your feelings, that's all." At my enormous sigh, she finally patted me on the arm and said, "Okay, okay, I'll be good." Then she waved and toddled away to talk to another group of her peers.

 _That_ conversation over with, I finished ladling out the two glasses of punch, then made my way to join Elsa at the table.

As I walked over, I saw that she was mid-conversation with Gerda.

* * *

"You know, my dear, it's not going to get any easier if you keep dwelling on the past."

I sighed, frustrated at myself because I know she's right. While everything with my last relationship had gone so horribly wrong, I knew deep down that I didn't stand a chance of actually being happy if I didn't let it go and move forward.

"You need to find yourself a nice and sweet young lady."

My face flushed pink. "I—"

"Oh, don't start… I've seen the way you look at people. It's glaringly obvious that you prefer the fairer sex, dear."

I couldn't form a response. I sputtered at her in disbelief.

With a twinkle in her eye, and a quick wink, Gerda continued, "Especially the way your attention lingers on that young redhead you had lunch with today."

 _Wait a second_ —

"And with that joke of hers, I'm fairly certain she swings the same way," the nurse chuckled. "My, my...I'm sure she's told that one many times."

"G-Gerda, you…" I swallowed, trying to school my features into a more serious expression even as my face blossomed with heat. "Th-This isn't exactly an appropriate topic to be discussing in the workplace, let alone around children."

"If you're worried about the children, to them, love is love no matter the form," she said reassuringly, offering a warm smile. "I think you're forgetting I'm also the councilor, dear. More than a few of the kids come to me for their problems, although...I think some of them misunderstood my job."

My throat suddenly felt dry. "And why is that?"

"Well, you see...they come to me for their problems, and I'm more than happy to help them out. However, their situations weren't exactly what I expected..." Gerda began, tapping her chin thoughtfully, "There were more than a few that were upset that you two weren't together yet. They asked me when you two would hold hands, or when you two would confess your love."

 _I think misunderstanding your job is a gross understatement here…_

By that point, Anna was arriving and I was hoping that no sweat showed on my forehead from how hard I was trying to conceal my feelings. Gerda seemed to sense she was about to be in the way - not that I would have agreed - and uttered a quiet, "Think about it?" before leaving to go talk to Calhoun and Felix. Probably to work similar "magic" there.

"Here," Anna said simply as she set the cup down in front of me before taking her seat. "So… what did I miss?"

"Nothing important. Just… chatter." I couldn't help the smirk that crept into my face. "I see you were cornered by young Vanellope again."

Snorting with laughter, Anna shook her head. "That girl… can we mail her to Alaska? Is that mean?"

"Yes!" I burst out, but I was laughing, too. Her laughter was so infectious; it filled me with warmth that I didn't know it was possible for me to feel anymore. "Can I ask you something?"

"Go for it," she told me as she took a sip of punch.

"What you painted…" I wanted to stop myself, was crying out inside that this was a huge mistake, but I suppose Gerda's advice sank in more than I could have anticipated. "It was me, wasn't it?"

She suddenly blanched, whiter than a sheet, and stammered out, "W-wh-why w-would y-you thi-think th-that?"

"Because… because I think I saw enough of it when you flipped it over on the easel to make out my hair, and eyes… and… the _way_ you painted my eyes…" I trailed off, wary that I was treading ground which should not be tread—and yet, I had to know.

"I-It…" She sighed deeply, then continued, "Y-yes."

"But… but you said that the project was to paint somebody… _important_ to _you_?" My voice trembled, brow furrowed in confusion, and my stomach twisted and turned in knots.

Her cheeks lit up like the sun, mouth formed into a tight line. "I-I did, yes. And, yes… you… you are very important to me…"

Important.

The word echoed in my mind as I stared at her, jaw almost dropping in disbelief. _There's no way...There's absolutely no way this could be happening...right?_ Much like the sheer amount of cards I had received earlier that day, it seemed too good to be true. Too lucky for someone like me.

"You...you really think I'm...important enough to paint?" I asked, my mind still reeling from...from...from what? A possible confession? Possible reciprocation? "I-I mean...I'm not the best teacher in this school, but—"

"No! No, that's...that's not what I'm...trying to say," Anna blurted out, fiddling with one of her braids. "What I'm trying to say is…"

A myriad of different expressions played out on her face as she fidgeted anxiously before giving a heavy sigh. Her features hardened into one of determination as she brushed past me to march over to the snack table nearby. She grabbed one of the napkins available and pulled a pen out from her pocket, sticking her tongue out from the corner of her mouth as she scribbled something furiously. Her cheeks grew redder with each passing second.

"Here," she said, all but shoving the napkin in my face when she marched back to where I was still sitting. Thoroughly confused as to how this would relate to the painting and her...erm, possible feelings, I took the offered napkin and stared at what had been hurriedly scrawled on there.

 **9x - 7i 〉 3(3x - 7u)**

"Um...Anna—"

"Just solve it."

I looked back up, and nearly snorted at the sight of the redhead covering her rapidly-warming face with both hands. I couldn't help the smile that curved onto my face at how adorable that looked, and reached a hand out to tap her shoulder.

"The pen, Anna?"

"Y-You don't need a p-pen to solve it; you're smart," came the stammered reply, muffled slightly from her hands, and I chuckled. While I could solve it mentally, it wasn't the same as writing things out. Moving that same hand, I plucked the pen from the pocket I had seen her slip it in, earning a muffled 'Eep!' in response.

Turning my gaze back to the napkin, I set to work solving the equation laid out for me. "Let's see now...Distribution, subtract 9x from both sides, divide by -7 on both sides and flip the—"

I nearly dropped the pen after I finished writing the 'u' at the end. An unbearable heat rose to my face, burning the tips of my ears as I stared at the solution written onto the napkin.

 **i 〈3 u**

Stammering wildly, I uttered, "Y-y-you… the valentine… pi… the… _that painting_ … y-you? R-Really?"

"Yes," came the strained reply from Anna.

"Oh, Miss Collins, you _really are_ perfect."

"W-wait… that… _that_ valentine WAS from you?" She gasped loudly. "Oh, Elsa—"

"A-Anna, I… I think I've loved you since we first met… after I had come to this school, after my …" My voice choked up, I couldn't continue that sentence.

"Okay," Anna breathed, in a voice that clearly told me she was seconds away from hyperventilating. "Okay, so… so I just told you in the most kindergarten way I probably could, and th-then you just flat-out _say it_ and this can't be real, we can't be having this conversation!"

"You brought the sun back into my life when you started in the fall."

"Aaaaand now you're dropping lines like _those!"_ she gushed, face glowing so much that her adorable freckles were slowly blending in with the rest, and my heart was pounding even harder. I was making her feel that way. _Me,_ the unapproachable 'Snow Queen'! This couldn't be my life. I had never been this lucky.

"Anna… I'm sorry if I'm making you uncomfortable," I tried. "You're not required to—"

But her index finger was on my lips, pressing in very gently. When I looked up to follow the line of her arm, up to her shoulder and further to her face, she looked scared yet determined.

"No, you don't have to keep going. I… I want to save 'you brought the sun' in my permanent files, if that's cool with you?" Then she closed her eyes and took a few steady breaths, while I quirked a confused eyebrow that she couldn't see. "Okay… okay."

"What was that?" I half-snickered when she let me talk again.

"Memorization."

"I see…" My cheeks ached. Was I smiling? "I don't think that would be necessary, Anna."

One eye opened, warily fixed on me. "Oh?"

I leaned in close, a hand coming to rest on that same shoulder I'd touched before. "All you have to do is ask, and I could easily say it again," I whispered into her ear, pulling away with a wider smile when she half-heartedly swatted at my arm.

"Ughh...stop that! Stop...stop...being so...so…" She actually stamped her foot, crossing her arms as she averted her gaze to the floor. "Oh, what's the word…"

"It's alright, Anna." I wrapped my arms around her shoulders, pulled her in tight against me, and slowly rubbed my open palm up and down her back. "It's okay."

She collapsed into the embrace, resting her head against my neck.

We just stood there for a minute, I revelled in the warmth of her body—not having had any _real_ physical contact with another person for years.

Eventually she pulled away slightly and raised her head to look at me.

All I could do was smile back at her, cheeks aching from how it stretched across my face.

Her face alit with the brightest, warmest smile I had ever received in my entire life, her eyes sparkling in the gym lighting.

Once I saw that she had recovered from earlier, I murmured, "I would love to see the paintings from your class' project… especially yours."

"Oh? Oh, you d-don't want—I mean, especially not Vanellope's, I might have to have a… talk with…" But she was so red, and her voice fell silent under my gaze, even though all I wanted was to hear her say as much as she possibly could with that musical voice of hers. "Maybe… I could show it to you first, I guess."

Nodding, I reached up and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and she shivered, not having expected that. "Let me judge her painting for myself."

"Your funeral. But… yeah, I guess we'll see." When my hand fell back to her shoulder, her cheek rested against my knuckles, eyes half-closing. My heart leapt into my throat—she was responding! Even more insane, she was responding _well!_ Could this actually work?

Of course, I still hadn't come up with an answer for that when I heard the cough. And our tiny bubble of magic that had surrounded us, enchanted both of us so completely, popped—letting in the rest of the outside world. Which was made up of several tiny faces, all staring straight at us with wide, excited eyes.

"...ah."

"See?! I told you!" Lilo exclaimed, the first to break the silence as she tugged on Dash's arm. "I told you they liked each other!"

"I knew that," the blond huffed, crossing his arms, "I was just...kidding earlier. Miss Schüler took so long, I thought she got bored!"

"No one gets bored of True Love, silly," Olaf sighed, hugging his red bow to his chest as he gave the two furiously blushing teachers a broad grin.

Vanellope ran up to us, and loudly uttered, "Well, it's about time. Much longer and we might have had to literally shove one of you into the other."

Gerda came up behind her, and grabbed her hoodie by the rear collar. "Leave the poor dears alone, little one. Yes, it took them awhile, but this needed to happen in it's own time—even if the issue had to be subtly forced." A bold grin alit her face at the end.

"This… is never going away," I sighed.

"God, I'm sorry," Anna breathed, and I could feel her trembling beside me, shifting like she wanted to run out the door or jump out a window. Whichever she came to first. "This wasn't—I mean, I never, _ever_ thought we would actually—that you would feel the same way as—so it happening _here_ of all places, I can't believe we're in the _gym_ and it's—"

Then she looked up at me with wide eyes, and I blinked down at her as I came to the same ridiculous realisation. "Oh. It's… Valentine's Day."

"We confessed our love on Valentine's Day. Like complete nerds." Rubbing her face harshly, she glanced around at the staff. "In front of the _entire school."_

"That… is an honest and true accounting of what happened."

Expression suddenly alight, she turned to look up at me and asked, "Can I show you those paintings? Now? _Right_ now? Away from here?!"

A chorus of "oooooooh's" sounded from our 'audience'.

"They're gonna secretly kiss!" one of the kids shrieked, inciting a wave of excitement from the others, and I swore I could hear one ask, "Can we see?" amidst the din.

Both of us groaned simultaneously, and Anna gently pulled on my hand to lead me back to the art room.

I very quietly whispered to her, "Yes, let's go."

We exited the gym, and made our way to the art classroom. Once inside, she quickly shut the door and made sure it was properly shut.

"If it's okay with you, I… I'd like to see your painting first?"

* * *

 _Holy fuck holy fuck holy fuck is this really happening?!_

"S-Sure," I said instead, smiling nervously at the blonde still holding onto my hand and hoping my palms didn't feel too sweaty or uncomfortably warm.

So Elsa flipped the painting back to lay on the easel, gazing at it. At herself, looking… wow, it looked even more overtly sensual than it did the last time I saw it. Though I wouldn't put it past Vanellope to have snuck back in there to make it worse, this time I couldn't shift the blame; this was all me. I had pictured Elsa with bedroom eyes and lip-biting, and no one else did that.

For nearly a minute, she just stood and drank it in, eyelashes fluttering now and then but otherwise not reacting. I started to worry she was either offended that I saw her that way—which would be really horrible, since I don't! Not really!—or that she thought it was not a great painting. Which, I mean… I've painted better portraits before, taken more time on them and produced more detailed work. I couldn't fault her if that's what she thought of it.

"A coward like me doesn't deserve this," she breathed in a broken whisper.

"What?" Turning from my greatest-slash-worst work of art thus far, I saw Elsa was crying. Pretty freely. My heart sank. "You… do you hate it, or—"

"NO! No, it's… it's beautiful! _Too_ beautiful, you—That isn't me, I'm not that flawless, that… gorgeous." Hiccuping, she tried to turn away from it, I saw her, but then she went right back to staring. "And I don't deserve it when I couldn't even work up the courage to tell you… how I feel."

I replied earnestly, "But Elsa, you DO deserve it." I walked up behind her, and wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace. "To be fair, a simple painting could _never_ do you justice—you are _far_ more beautiful than any painting could dare try to capture. And… in all honesty, neither one of us worked up the courage to confess how we felt without prodding from _somebody_ today—this isn't all on you, nor should it be."

After a breath, I continued, "You are such a gorgeous, vibrant woman—even if you don't feel it, or can't believe it. You truly are. I cannot believe how truly lucky I am that you feel the same about me as I feel for you."

I sighed in contentment once her tears stopped, her body's wracking heaves quelled, her breathing evened out.

"Elsa, I love you. And… you weren't the only one who was scared. Maybe not for the same reasons—at least, not entirely—but we both were. I was so afraid that if I confessed, and you didn't feel the same way… it would have broken me. I... It took a lot for me to accept that I was attracted to another woman, and I don't know what I would have done if I had been rejected."

Elsa softly spoke, "Oh, Anna… dear, sweet, loving Anna… What did I ever do to deserve you?"

I chuckled against her back. "I ask myself that everyday."

Hands came to rest upon my own, rubbing circles against my wrists. "Seems rather narcissistic of you," Elsa quietly teased, her voice trembling a little, but I could pick out the smile hidden in her tone.

"Oh, hush. You know what I meant." I hugged her closer, delighting in the way her fingers glided on my skin. _I wonder if she's a pianist…?_

I wondered a lot of things, actually. What made her laugh—aside from horrible math jokes, of course—what made her cry, if she preferred sweet or savory, if she liked rainy days or sunny days the most...I wanted to get to know her. Every facet that made up Elsa Schüler...I wanted to see them all. No matter how weird, how cold, how...how…

"By the way...there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Seems like a familiar question," Elsa chuckled, and I aggressively nuzzled my face against her back in retaliation for the jab. "H-Hey! Anna!"

"C'mon, Elsa, I was being serious here…" I pouted as she twisted around in my embrace so she could directly face me. With our new position, I almost lost the will to go on with my question, staring up into those big blue eyes that crinkled at the corners with her smile.

Almost.

"WillyoubemyValentine?"

Of course. Of _course_ she burst out laughing at me; that seemed about right. But when I ducked my head and tried to hide my eyes from her, she reached up and touched my chin, left her finger there until I looked up into her own eyes again.

"You asked me that _after_ you told me you 'heart' me. Seems a little backwards, but…"

My heart shouldn't have beat faster over this than over the confession. "But?"

"But I guess I don't mind if you don't."

At that point, I had already reached my limit for crazy things to happen in one day. My students turning traitor and painting scenes of their teacher being romantically linked to another one, Elsa seeing this painting that my demon-possessed hands had created… declarations of love. And now there was one more on the list.

The skin burned around the spot on my forehead where Elsa's lips had been a moment before. Everything in the realm of logic and reason told me it had to be my imagination; she wouldn't kiss me. Not dumb Anna Collins, the silly art teacher who couldn't even get her students to follow her rubric for the day. But she was so close that it couldn't have been me dreaming. The most perfect woman in the world had kissed any part of me, and I could still feel it as if that one instant was never going to fade, would be forever frozen in time within some dusty corner of my heart, no matter how long had passed. Always, there would be Elsa's lips on my forehead.

* * *

Wrapped in Anna's arms, I felt safer and happier than I ever had before. At that moment, I knew that _this_ is what real, honest to goodness, love felt like.

I shuffled us around so I could take another look at Anna's painting, this time hopefully without experiencing a breakdown in front of her.

The painting was breathtaking. The extreme attention to detail, all the seemingly insignificant aspects of my appearance brought to light on the page. Though, upon closer inspection there were two aspects of it that… _intrigued_ me—she had painted me with me biting my lip in a sensual manner, and my eyes half-lidded… _bedroom eyes_.

"Is… is this how you see me?" I asked her, voice somewhere between curiosity and trepidation.

"Well…" she began, "Yes, though the lip and the eyes were from… daydreams… fantasies…" Her voice trailed off as her face alit with a blush—she had practically choked on the final word.

I hummed in response. "It truly is a wonderful painting. Thank you."

"D-Don't… don't mention it."

"May we look at your student's paintings now?" I inquired.

"Yes. Though, perhaps… perhaps we should start with Vanellope's…"

* * *

 **EPILOGUE**

It took every last ounce of our combined willpower to make it to the faculty mixer that evening. Because we knew what would be waiting for us, and how completely embarrassing it would be to put up with all the razzing, the teasing, the completely unprofessional innuendo. We went anyway.

Elsa wore a dress for the first time I could remember, and it was a gorgeous thing; blue silk with lace, completely elegant and completely her. Me, I just found a little black dress that I'd tried on a few dates and never got anywhere. No danger of that anymore.

Once we got tired of the jokes and pats on the back, I was able to persuade Elsa to follow me out to the playground, where we sat in the swings and looked up at the stars through the chilly night sky. She admitted that she'd never actually sat in a swing before; her parents didn't encourage her to play with other children. When I told her they were gonna get a stern talking to from me, all she had to say was, "Well, you are going to meet them eventually, so… we'll see if you're true to your word."

That shut me up pretty fast. And made it impossible for me to meet her eyes until she turned my face toward her with thumb and forefinger and wrapped our lips together. This was the first "real kiss" we shared, not counting ones on other, more neutral places… and definitely the best Valentine's kiss ever.

Work became… complicated after that, but that's another story for another time.

* * *

 **Author's Note:**

9x - 7i 〉 3(3x - 7u)

 _distribute the 3* on the right_

9x - 7i 〉 9x - 21u

 _subtract 9x from both sides_

-7i 〉 -21u

 _divide both sides by -7, flipping the sign_

i 〈 3u

 **Contributors:** Cyrianu, The-Wandering-Quill, Wolfy Puppy7/Pankite, CanITellUSmThin, Winterssummerallthefunner, Jessica-X/forkanna, Nopantsparade, TalksToPaintings


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